At that time, Sun Cheng and Han Xizai had already taken the emperor's imperial edict and came to the government offices under the protection of the soldiers of the imperial army. Then they closed the door and urgently summoned officials from the six departments to explain that the Zhennan Army was planning to rebel, and that the emperor was in the midst of a crisis. In anger, he issued an order to remove Song's father and son and Li Zhenggu from all positions. Left Prime Minister Xu Xuan and Privy Councilor Wei Cen were suspended pending investigation. All other related party members and criminal officials will be investigated one by one.
This news, like thunder on the ground, instantly shocked all officials. Overnight, King Zheng's party of courtiers headed by Xu Xuan fell from the clouds into hell. Their past glory was wiped out, and they became the sinners of the Tang Dynasty.
Officials from Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and Yushitai were all recruited, and under the orderly command of the new right prime minister Sun Cheng, a large-scale purge began in Jinling City. In less than two hours, eighty-nine officials were arrested, which shocked the hearts of the people. Panic.
After Zu Zhongen ordered martial law in Jinling and quickly closed all the city gates in Jinling, the memorial from Li Zhenggu, Deputy Privy Envoy and Secretary of the Ministry of War, also inexplicably spread to all corners of Jinling City. Word of mouth spread among the people. No one knows that in their quarrels, the main culprit of the rebellion is definitely not Li Zhenggu who is drinking and eating meat outside Hezhou City, but Li Congjia, Prince of Zheng, who is in panic all day long in the palace.
"Prince Zheng is a generous and kind man, and he will be a wise king in the future. If I, Xu Xuan, will only be loyal to one person in my life, that person is Prince Zheng. I will spare no effort in my life to help Prince Zheng achieve his great cause."
This is indeed what Xu Xuan said to Li Zhenggu, Wei Cen and others at the banquet in Prince Zheng's Mansion in the past. This sentence can be described as treasonous and has a profound meaning. But if someone did not spread it deliberately , how could it cause such a commotion that everyone in the city knew about it?
When Sun Cheng copied this sentence intact in a secret memorial and presented it to the emperor Li Jing, Li Jing immediately deduced the real cause of the rebellion, and even related that his sixth son had entered the court. Various signs since then.
Originally, Li Jing hoped that even if the rebellion became a reality, even if his son participated in it, he would never be the one who took the lead. He would rather Li Congjia was just temporarily confused and deceived, but the more he thought about it, the more he became confused. Lots of doubts. The more I suspect that something is wrong with Li Congjia, the more I feel that there must be something wrong with him...
After much thought, Li Jing did not relent, and immediately ordered Xu Xuan to be handed over to the Third Division of Yushitai of Dali Temple of the Ministry of Punishment for trial, and he was allowed to be tortured to verify Xu Xuan's connection with the rebellion. Poor Xu Xuan has been depressed for most of his life. In the past six months, he has just seen hope, but he has been thrown into the abyss by this sap. Moreover, with his weak body, it is difficult to even get on the bed, let alone the execution.
As we all know, Xu Xuan is a representative figure of King Zheng's party. Some people who had complained in various government offices no longer dare to speak out. Because it is easy to be suspected of treason. Who dares to get angry at this critical time?
Suddenly, the city of Jinling was in an uproar surrounding the conspiracy of King Zheng and his party to collude with the Zhennan Army. Although Xu Xuan was full of injustices, it was difficult to know that he had followed Wei Cen's suggestion and supported the Northern Expedition in the court. Just to transfer Li Zhenggu out of the capital! Who would have known that Li Zhenggu and Wei Cen would in turn put him in an alliance. Even if Xu Xuan wanted King Zheng to inherit the throne, he would still fight through the court. How could he have thought of rebelling?
In Xu Xuan's heart, the real culprits should be the two Privy Council members. They are the ones who deserve to be cut into pieces. Xu Xuan secretly lamented that King Zheng did not have the destiny to be an emperor after all. I am afraid that this time Even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he could not be washed away. Whether his life could be saved is still doubtful.
And there is one person who is more wronged than Xu Xuan, and that is Prince Zheng Li Congjia. When he heard about the secret report and that Xu Xuan was tortured and interrogated by the emperor's order, Li Congjia did not dare to go to intercede for Xu Xuan, because the person involved in Xu Xuan's remarks in the secret report by Sun Cheng was himself.
When all the members of this party collapsed and the tigers and wolves appeared in the city, how could Li Congjia dare to say a word? He felt more wronged than anyone else. He thought that he had only attracted a few beauties in the palace in recent days, but he was inexplicably carried on his back. He was charged with treason. At this time, the swords of Dian Zhijun were waiting to be lifted, and his father's eyes were staring at him. He might be killed at any time.
The grievances in Li Congjia's heart can be imagined, and he suddenly thought that when he was imprisoned by Li Yuan in Langzhou, he might soon have to repeat history. After hearing that Xu Xuan and others were imprisoned one by one, his arms were broken one by one. The pain was indescribable.
And what made Li Congjia gnash his teeth with hatred was that the first person to bear the brunt was Li Zhenggu. Li Zhenggu took advantage of his trust and committed rebellion, but he saw that the name of rebellion was pinned on his head, and he fell into Being left alone and helpless, Li Congjia wished he could cut Li Zhenggu into pieces in order to relieve the hatred in his heart.
Of course, among the people Li Congjia hated, there was also Sun Cheng. Obviously, Sun Cheng jumped out and wrote this secret memorial at this time. It must have been arranged. Sun Cheng is cunning and knows when to use what means to make things irreversible. All of this was the result of his careful design and arrangements. This time, he was in indescribable suffering and was beyond redemption.
In the gloomy Prince Zheng's mansion, Li Congjia sat on the bed all day at a loss. Whenever there was any disturbance, he would open his eyes nervously and look around, fearing that his father had ordered someone to come and get him. He was suffering for a long time and accidentally heard a sound in the courtyard. Later, he found that it was just the howling wind and snow. Li Congjia was relieved but also felt infinite loss.
He knew in his heart that this matter was related to rebellion. Even if Xu Xuan was not killed because of the secret memorial, he would definitely fall in the court. Now, all his party members in Jinling City were wiped out, and all the chips in his hand were lost instantly. With all his energy gone, he no longer had anything to rely on to support him.
From now on, all hostile forces will deal with you unscrupulously, and you will have no power to fight back.
That night, Li Congjia finally had some thoughts and discussed with Zhang Zi, the only one left beside him, what to do next. Before that, Li Congjia was not in the mood to discuss countermeasures with Zhang Zi because of worry, and Zhang Zi could only wait patiently.
In the study, under a solitary lamp, Li Congjia sat behind a eucalyptus, his pale and haggard face flickering in and out of view under the candlelight, like a soulless body. Zhang Zi looked at Li Congjia and sighed in his heart, how could such a person control the Tang Dynasty in the future? He is not an emperor at all.
He is indecisive, cowardly and suspicious, has no plan when things happen, and is lustful and unjust. It's a pity that I can only try my best to assist him, and there is no one else who can assist him. But that's fine. It's easier for me to control him, which is not a bad thing.
"What do you think we should do in the current situation? How should I deal with the current predicament when our lives are in danger? Xu Xuan has been captured, Zhongshu's sect and the Privy Council have all changed hands, and now the thief Li Zhenggu is leading the army again. He is leading the Zhennan Army to plot rebellion, leaving me alone in the palace to wait for death! What should I do, what should I do!" Li Congjia lowered his eyes and said hoarsely.
Zhang Zi stood in front of Li Congjia, with a hint of despicable ridicule in his eyes, but his words were very sincere: "Your Highness, don't think about other people's affairs now. At this time, who is willing to openly express his love for you? Loyalty? Isn't this asking for trouble? Now I am the only one by your side, but don't worry, with me here, the situation in front of you will not be difficult to break."
